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Municipal Art Society

457 Madison Avenue.

The Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS), founded in 1893, is a non-profit membership organization that protects New York’s legacy spaces, encourages thoughtful planning and urban design, and advocates for inclusive neighborhoods across the five boroughs.

January 2010, MAS relocated from its longtime home in the historic Villard Houses on 457 Madison Avenue to the equally famed Steinway Hall on West 57th Street (across the street and east of Carnegie Hall). In July 2014, MAS moved into the landmark Look Building at 488 Madison Avenue, across the street from its former Villard home.

By the 1950s, scores of notable Manhattan buildings were lost to redevelopment around the city, and the mission of MAS broadened to include historical preservation. In 1956, the Society successfully lobbied for the passage of the Bard Law, which for the first time allowed cities to take aesthetics, history, and cultural associations into account for zoning laws. The law, named after longtime MAS board member and chief advocate, Albert S. Bard, provided a legal foundation for the New York City Landmarks Law, enacted in 1965.